Burnham says he would seek to enter any Labour leadership contest

Burnham says he would seek to enter any Labour leadership contestJust nowShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleRichard WheelerPolitical reporterPA MediaAndy Burnham said he would seek to enter any potential Labour leadership contest should he win the Makerfield by-election on 18 June.The Greater Manchester Mayor also told BBC Question Time that he would "take the fight to change politics and change this county as high as I could".But Reform UK candidate Robert Kenyon said there is a need for a "big move away from career politicians" and warned against using Makerfield as a "stepping stone".Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has defied calls from some Labour MPs to step down after poor election results last month. No formal challenge has been launched against him.Sir Keir also said he would not "walk away" from Downing Street despite suffering ministerial resignations, most notably from former Health Secretary Wes Streeting.The by-election was called after then-Labour MP Josh Simons stepped down, a move he said was to allow Burnham to run for Parliament and potentially mount a leadership bid.Burnham and Kenyon, a plumber and local councillor, were among five of the 14 candidates in the by-election who appeared on Question Time in Makerfield.Asked about how politicians could restore public trust in them, Burnham criticised "point-scoring before problem-solving" in Westminster before he was pressed about his own ambitions.The Labour candidate said: "I can't do anything unless I'm lucky enough to get the support of people here."But if I get your support, I would seek to represent you at the highest possible level and give this constituency maximum power and influence."I think Wes Streeting seems to have launched a leadership contest, so if that is running I would seek to join it, but I'd have to persuade members of the Parliamentary Labour Party to do the same."Any challenger wanting to trigg...